Tippett began playing with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) in the 1979–80 season. In his first year with the team, Tippett scored 53 goals and 125 points in 60 games. In the playoffs, he continued with the very strong offensive numbers, scoring 19 goals and 40 points in 25 games.

Tippett returned to the Raiders for the 1980–81 season, and once again had an excellent season, scoring 42 goals and 110 points in 60 games. In 24 playoff games, he had 20 goals and 45 points.

The 1985–86 season saw Tippett once again appear in all 80 games with the Whalers, as he improved his offensive totals to 14 goals and 34 points, helping the team into the 1986 playoffs. In his first post-season experience in the NHL, Tippett had two goals and four points in ten games as Hartford eventually lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens.

The Whalers won the Adams Division in 1986–87, as Tippett chipped in with nine goals and 31 points while playing in all 80 games again. In the 1987 playoffs, the Whalers were upset in six games in the first round to the Quebec Nordiques, as Tippett was held to two assists in the series.

In 1987–88, Tippett improved his numbers from the previous season, scoring 16 goals and 37 points, playing in all 80 games for the club. In six playoff games, Tippett was held pointless.

Tippett had his best offensive season in 1988–89, as he scored a career high 17 goals and 41 points, appearing in all 80 games again for Hartford, helping them into the playoffs. In four post-season games, Tippett had an assist.

In 1989–90, Tippett saw his offensive totals fall to only eight goals and 27 points, his lowest totals since his first full NHL season, while appearing in 66 games, the first time in his career that he missed any games due to injuries. In seven playoff games, Tippett had a goal and four points.

In Tippett's first season with the Capitals, in 1990–91, he played in 61 games, scoring only six goals and 15 points, his lowest totals since 1983–84. Tippett had a solid playoff performance, however, scoring two goals and five points in ten games, helping the Capitals to the second round of the playoffs.

In 1991–92, Tippett appeared in only 30 games, scoring two goals and 12 points. He left the team to join Team Canada for the 1992 Winter Olympics held in Albertville, France. In seven games with Canada, Tippett had a goal and three points as the Canadians won the silver medal. Tippett returned to the Capitals for the rest of the regular season, and in seven playoff games, Tippett had an assist.

After the season, Tippett became a free agent, and on August 25, 1992, he signed a contract with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 1992–93, Tippett had his best offensive season since 1989–90, as he scored six goals and 25 points in 74 games, helping the Penguins win the Presidents' Trophy. In the playoffs, Tippett had a goal and five points in 12 games as Pittsburgh lost to the New York Islanders in the second round.

Tippett became a free agent after the season, and on August 30, 1993, he was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tippett was a player-assistant coach with the Aeros during the 1994–95 season, however, he decided to retire from playing, and began the 1995–96 season as just an assistant coach. After the Aeros started off the season with a 12–27–3 record, the team fired Head Coach Terry Ruskowski and named Tippett as his replacement. Tippett guided the Aeros to a 17–18–5 record, though the team failed to make the playoffs.

In 1996–97, Tippett began his first full season as head coach of the club, as the Aeros improved to a 44–30–8 record, earning 94 points, which was a 28-point improvement over the previous season. In the playoffs, the Aeros quickly swept the Las Vegas Thunder in three games, followed by a five game series win over the San Antonio Dragons in the second round. Houston then lost to the Long Beach Ice Dogs in the Western Conference finals in five games.

The Aeros had a very solid season in 1997–98, as the team went 50–22–10, earning 110 points, which was a 16-point improvement over the previous season. In the playoffs, however, Houston was upset by the Milwaukee Admirals in four games.

Tippett returned to Houston for the 1998–99, and the team finished with the best record in the league, going 54–15–13, getting 121 points. In the playoffs, the heavily-favoured Aeros had a bye in the first round, followed by a close best-of-five series against the Long Beach Ice Dogs, in which Houston prevailed with a win in the decisive Game 5. In the Western Conference Finals, the Chicago Wolves took the Aeros to seven games, with Houston winning the seventh game 4–1 to advance the team to the 1999 Turner Cup Finals. In the final round, the Aeros faced the Orlando Solar Bears, and in a series that once again went the limit, the Aeros defeated Orlando in Game 7 by a 5–3 score to capture the championship. Tippett was named the IHL Coach of the Year, while the Aeros won the Fred A. Huber Jr. Memorial Trophy for having the best record in the League during the regular season.[1]

The Kings had another successful season in 2000–01, as they went 38–28–13–3, getting 92 points, and a playoff position for the second straight season. In the post-season, the Kings defeated the heavily favoured Detroit Red Wings in six games in the first round, eventually losing a seven-game series against the Colorado Avalanche in the second round.

Los Angeles improved in the 2001–02 season, reaching 40 wins with a 40–27–11–4 record, earning 95 points. In a rematch against the Avalanche in the 2002 playoffs, the Kings once again lost in seven games, this time in the first round.

On May 16, 2002, the Dallas Stars named Tippett as the new head coach of the team. The Stars were coming off a disappointing 2001–02, as the club failed to make the playoffs.

In his first season with the club in 2002–03, Tippett led the Stars to a 46–17–15–4 record, finishing in first place in the Pacific Division with 111 points, which represented a 21-point improvement over the previous year. In the first round of the 2003 playoffs, Dallas eliminated the Edmonton Oilers in six games, before losing in six games to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the second round.

The 2004–05 NHL lockout cancelled the entire season, but when NHL play resumed in 2005–06, Tippett led the Stars to a 53–23–6 record, earning 112 points, the second-highest total in the Conference and a 15-point increase over the last season. Dallas' playoff run ended quickly, however, as they were upset by Colorado in five games in the first round.

In 2007–08, the Stars once again had a great regular season, going 45–30–7, earning 97 points and finishing in fifth place in the Conference. In the 2008 playoffs, Dallas defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks in six games in the first round, followed by another six-game series victory over the San Jose Sharks in the second round. In the Western Conference Finals, the Stars faced the Detroit Red Wings, who ended the Stars' season after winning the series in six games.

Dallas had a tough season in 2008–09, as the team finished with a 36–35–11 record, earning 83 points and failing to make the 2009 playoffs. On June 10, 2009, the Stars fired Tippett as head coach, replacing him with Marc Crawford.[2][3]

On September 24, 2009, Tippett took over the coaching duties of the Phoenix Coyotes after Wayne Gretzky resigned from the position earlier that day. He took over a team that was facing a large amount of adversity about its future in Phoenix. During the previous season, Owner Jerry Moyes had secretly turned over operational control of the team to the NHL due to mounting losses. In May, Moyes tried to declare bankruptcy and sell the team to BlackBerry developer Jim Balsillie, who intended to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL, however, successfully contended that Moyes and Balsillie had violated League rules, prompting them to take full control of the team.

In his first season with the Coyotes in 2009–10, the team overcame its off-ice troubles to finish with a club-record 50 wins, as they went 50–25–7, earning 107 points, a 28-point improvement over the 2008–09 season and helping the Coyotes to their first playoff berth since the 2001–02 season. Phoenix faced the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. Although the Coyotes had home-ice advantage for the first time since 1985 — when they were still the Winnipeg Jets — it was the Red Wings who came out victorious, defeating the Coyotes in seven games. After the season, Tippett won the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year.

In 2010–11, Tippett led the Coyotes to the playoffs once again, as they had a 43–26–13 record, earning 99 points and sixth place in the Western Conference. Phoenix once again faced the Red Wings in the first round, however, and the Red Wings quickly ended the Coyotes' season with a four-game series sweep.

In 2011–12, Tippett led the Coyotes to the Pacific Division title — the franchise's first as an NHL team, and their first of any sort since the Jets won the 1978–79 World Hockey Association (WHA) regular-season title. With a 42–27–13 record and 97 points, they were the third seed in the Western Conference. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in six games for the franchise's first playoff series win since 1987. In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they defeated the Nashville Predators in five games, thus notching more playoff series wins than they had in their entire NHL history. Their run ended with a five-game loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings, in the Conference Finals.

The lockout-shortened, 48-game season in 2012–13 was a more difficult year for Tippett and the Coyotes. Racked with injuries and off-ice trouble, the team did not make playoffs for the first time during Tippett's tenure, finishing the season at 21–18–9, missing the post-season by five points. Despite the difficulties of the season the Coyotes re-signed Tippett to a long-term contract on June 21, 2013.